Fire(paw) In School
by Graystorm11
Summary: What the title says. Travel through Firepaw's life in elementary school as I (sort of) reenact the book. Enjoy and review! DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

**Because of other stories, I will only be updating this once a week. Please enjoy the first chapter!**

Rusty sighed. He gazed down at the elementary school in the valley. The sign over the doors read _White Hart - School for all ages._ Rusty was starting first grade and frankly, he was nervous. He wish he was homeschooled like his best friend, Smudge, but oh well. Rusty took a deep breath, adjusted his blue backpack with it's jangling keys, and trudged to the school. He entered through the large doors, which had gorse bushes growing on either side. Almost as soon as he stepped into the hallway he forgot to be nervous. With a glass ceiling, forest-green painted lockers, and columns painted to look like trees, this place looked and felt wonderful. The air-conditioning blew a comfortable breeze that ruffled Rusty's bright ginger hair.

Rusty heard sudden footsteps behind him and immediately his instinct kicked in and told him to run. So he did. He heard the person running after him and Rusty was short of breath. Rusty turned and saw another first grader with shaggy black hair. The black-haired kid rammed into Rusty's chest, causing them both to topple over. Rusty was quick back on his feet, but the other kid stayed down and studied Rusty carefully.

"Hi! My name's Graypaw!" The other kid introduced himself. Rusty remained wary but relaxed after a heartbeat.

"Why did your parents name you Graypaw?" Rusty asked.

Graypaw's eyes narrowed. "My parents didn't name me Graypaw. The school did."

Now Rusty was completely confused. "The school named you?" What sort of place was this?

Graypaw explained, "There's certain rankings. You get a name like Graypaw in elementary school and when you get to middle school and high school, you're given a name like Lionheart. It's sort of a nickname and you can't call people by the name your parents gave you or you're expelled."

"Harsh rules" Rusty commented.

"I hear my teacher!" Graypaw exclaimed suddenly. "He won't be pleased you're late for class. Go!"

Rusty turned, not knowing which way to run. It didn't matter. Because from behind a column, a shaggy-haired blonde man padded out. Graypaw lowered his head and Rusty copied him. Graypaw's nose practically touched his chest when a gray-haired woman walked out from behind another column.

"That man is Lionheart, my personal teacher. And that woman is Bluestar, the headmaster." Graypaw whispered to Rusty.

"Thank you for the introduction, Graypaw" Lionheart spoke coolly. He shot a look at Bluestar. "Shall we take this new student to class?"

"Of course." Bluestar had a raspy voice but it was strong and commanded respect. "We shall introduce him to the class immediately."

Bluestar and Lionheart ran off down the hall and Graypaw followed them. Rusty dodged around the columns, struggling to keep up. Eventually, the group skidded to a halt in front of a door painted to look like a bramble bush. Bluestar pushed open the door.

As Rusty walked in, he lost himself to the beauty. A glass ceiling, walls, and grass-like carpet created the scene of the outside. Oak trees grew close to the walls and their branches created dappled patterns on the floor. Concentrating on the room itself, Rusty noticed a pile of green beanbags stacked in a corner with piles of more beanbags neatly organized in the opposite corner. There was a thin wall that dived the room in half and sounds of murmuring were coming from behind it. Bluestar walked over to a desk shaped like a boulder and pushed a button. "Let everyone gather in the main room."

Lionheart led the way out of the room, across the hallway, and into another room that was similar to the first except there was no wall splitting the room in half. A larger desk shaped like boulder sat opposite the door. Suddenly, all sorts of people streamed into the room. Rusty was overwhelmed.

"Settle down, Thunderschool." Bluestar's authoritative voice rang out from the boulder-desk. The other people stopped talking and were quiet. Rusty glanced behind him and caught an encouraging nod from Graypaw.

"We have found a new student who is willing to become a part of Thunderschool." Bluestar began.

"_Lucky_ to become a part of Thunderschool." A person shouted. Rusty craned his neck and saw a person with short black hair and milky skin standing in defiance.

'Be quiet, Longtail," Bluestar ordered then continued, "And I have accepted him into our ranks."

"Are you mad?" Longtail was screaming again. If Rusty had to guess, Longtail was a very rude 12th grader. "Look at his backpack! That symbolizes he isn't of Thunder blood!" Rusty adjusted his backpack nervously, making his keys jingle.

"And his keys! He won't need them! Send him back!" Longtail yelled.

Rusty felt anger building up inside of him. He could barely hear Lionheart whispering "Do you back down from a challenge?"

Rusty pinpointed Longtail's location, and raced for him. Longtail, totally taken by surprise, barely had time to throw his hands in front of him before Rusty bowled into him. Yelling and shouting ensued and as the fight got fiercer and the crowd got wilder, Rusty screamed in exhilaration. Suddenly he felt a tugging at his throat. Longtail had taken the backpack strap and slipped it over Rusty's head and was pulling with all his might. Rusty choked and pulled away and suddenly he heard a _snap_ and was flying through the air. Rusty crashed into Bluestar's desk and Longtail slammed hard into the wall, Rusty's backpack in his hands.

"ENOUGH!" Bluestar thundered, standing up from her desk. The headmaster gazed down at Rusty, admiration in her eyes. "This student has _earned_ a Thunderschool name."

A shaft of sunlight sliced through the trees and Rusty stood up, right in the center of the beam.

"You look like fire in the sun" Bluestar murmured and her blue eyes held a knowing look. "From this day forwards, this student will be called Firepaw!" Bluestar's voice echoed through the room.

_Firepaw!_ Firepaw eagerly thought, _my name is Firepaw!_


	2. Chapter 2

**I almost forgot so read this real fast! I don't own warriors, Erin Hunter does. I also don't own the idea as one of my favorite fanfictions is ****_Warriors in Highschool_**** by****_ I'm legit demigod_****. Just so you know!**

As the students lingered in the main room, Firepaw enjoyed hearing voices call out his name.

"Firepaw!"

"Good luck, young Firepaw!"

"Nice name too!"

Firepaw turned to face Graypaw.

"Thanks" Firepaw said. "So how does this school work?"

Graypaw explained, "If your parents send you here, you can't leave. You saw those piles of beanbags - those were beds. You only get to see your parents for half of Christmas break. Also, there are three other schools. Riverschool eats only fish, but they're usually peaceful. Windschool is full of skinny and nervous kids, but they're friendly once you get to know them. Shadowschool, well, they aren't the most liked."

Firepaw was full of questions. "How do you know so much about the other schools if you never leave this one?"

"I heard about it from the elders," Graypaw responded but seeing Firepaw's con fused look he continued, "there's a senior learning center attached to every school. Shadowschool is to the north, Riverschool is to the south, and Windschool is to the east. So right in the center of the four schools, is an outdoor meeting place that has four huge oak trees growing in each direction of a school. Got it?"

Firepaw was overwhelmed but he tried not to let it show.

"Let's take some food to the elders," Graypaw suggested.

Graypaw led the way out of the main room and walked a little ways down the hall. He stopped next to a door painted to look like a tree trunk. Graypaw pushed open the door and Firepaw found himself in a room that was small and cozy. The walls were made of logs and so was the ceiling. Soft lights shone but Firepaw couldn't tell where they were coming from. The murmur of voices was soothing and Firepaw looked for the source. There were a few green beds in the corner opposite the door and lying on them were five old people. There was a large table heaped with food and the old people were helping themselves. Firepaw's stomach growled - it had to be way past lunchtime. One of the elders caught his eye and gestured him to come closer.

"Dustpaw and Sandpaw would have brought them that," Gray whispered, "that's one of the student's tasks."

"Hello, youngsters" A gray-haired elderly man greeted.

"Hello, Smallear" Graypaw dipped his head respectfully.

"This must be our new student, Firepaw" a brown-haired man stated.

"That's right" Firepaw copied Graypaw's nod.

"I'm Halftail," rasped the brown-haired elder, "welcome to Thunderschool."

"Have you two eaten?" Smallear questioned. When Firepaw and Graypaw shook their heads, Smallear croaked, "Well there's enough here. Sandpaw and Dustpaw are turning into fine students. Would you mind if these youngsters shared a dish of macaroni, One-eye?"

A gray-haired woman with one blind eye shook her head. "What about you, Dappletail?" One-eye rasped.

"Of course not." A white-haired woman who wore tortoise shell glasses replied.

"Thank you' Graypaw said eagerly. He picked up two bowls of macaroni and cheese and handed them to Firepaw.

"I've never had macaroni and cheese before." Firepaw mewed uncertainly.

"Try it" Graypaw encouraged.

Firepaw took a bite. It exploded with flavor in his mouth, the cheese gooey, and the macaroni buttery.

"What do you think?" Graypaw asked, his yellow eyes sparking with humor.

"Delicious!" Firepaw mumbled, his mouth still full.

Suddenly a voice came on over a loudspeaker "E-emergency! G-gather in the m-main room! E-emergency!" The voice was high-pitched and shaky and Firepaw felt that this wasn't going to end well.

Firepaw and Graypaw rushed out into the hallway and headed with the students also running to the main room. When Firepaw entered the main room, he saw a small African-American kid standing to the side of Bluestar's desk-boulder. He had a cut in his head that was oozing out blood very quickly.

"That's Ravenpaw!" Graypaw gasped. "But where's Tigerclaw?"

"Who's Tigerclaw?" Firepaw asked, curious about all these new names.

"Tigerclaw is Ravenpaw's personal teacher." Graypaw explained, "But why has Ravenpaw come back alone?"

"Speak, Ravenpaw!" Bluestar's commanding voice rang out across the room as she quickly walked to her desk.

Ravenpaw grabbed the desk with his right hand and Firepaw saw that his left hand was being held at an odd angle.

"Redtail is dead!" Ravenpaw choked out before collapsing from the pain.

A blond woman ran up to him and called out, "Spottedleaf!"

A very pretty red-haired woman shoved through the crowd. She had black streaks in her hair and was wearing an ivory sweater. Her copper colored eyes were astoundingly beautiful. Spottedleaf walked to the student and started looking at his head wound.

"He'll live, Goldenflower" Spottedleaf spoke with a voice like birdsong.

A shocked yell sounded from across the room. A muscular, dark brown-haired man burst through the room door. His piercing amber eyes gave Firepaw an uncomfortable feeling. But what really enforced the feeling was the ginger-haired man slung on his back.

"Redtail" Graypaw's eyes filled with tears. The muscular man laid Redtail on the floor and Firepaw saw that his neck had been twisted so that the bone would have broken.

"That's Tigerclaw," Graypaw said, tears trickling down his face as he pointed at the muscular man standing over Redtail.

"He died with honor, struck down by Oakheart" Tigerclaw's voice resonated like a bass guitar. Bluestar's face streamed with tears as she walked silently over to Redtail.

"Redtail was her principal for many years," Graypaw explained, "She will not take his death easily."

The light of the setting sun slanted through the glass ceiling as people walked to Redtail's body and murmured into his ears.

"What are they doing?" Firepaw was confused as he whispered into Graypaw ear.

"They're sending his soul to Starschool. It's a school where you don't have to do school if you don't want to, but you can wander through the classrooms and do anything you want to in them."

Firepaw was a bit confused but decided he didn't want the headache of thinking about it.

"So this is our new student," Firepaw heard a cold voice behind him and turned, staring into Tigerclaw's face.

"I'm Firepaw," Green eyes met amber eyes as Tigerclaw studied Firepaw.

"I shall watch your training with interest, then." Tigerclaw turned and walked away. Firepaw shivered. Even Tigerclaw's breath was cold.

"He's a little intimidating," Graypaw said, noticing Firepaw's discomfort.

"Slightly," Firepaw turned and looked around the room. "Where do I sleep?"

"This way," Graypaw beckoned. He led Firepaw back to the first classroom and pointed to the beanbags. "You make a bed out of those."

Firepaw instantly dragged three large beanbags over to where the other beds were. A girl with sandy blond hair was already in the corner, adjusting her beanbags.

"Excuse me," Firepaw asked hesitantly. The blond whipped her head around and stared at Firepaw with blazing green eyes. "Where should I put my bed?" Firepaw finished, feeling uncomfortable.

"Anywhere, as long as it's not near me!" the blond snapped. Firepaw felt taken aback.

"Sandpaw's probably like this because Redtail was her father," Graypaw whispered, "She's not usually like this."

Firepaw nodded in understanding, then made his bed near to the glass wall, far enough away from Sandpaw. Graypaw tossed him a cozy green blanket and a dark green pillow. Firepaw found it was very comfortable.

_Tomorrow I start my lessons in Thunderschool! _Firepaw thought excitedly before closing his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**A week later, my update returns! Seems longer, doesn't it? I've had so much going on, snow, upcoming birthdays, school - it's a mess!  
**

Firepaw was trying to walk to the front of a long class room to give a report.

"Wake up, Firepaw you lazy lump!" Graypaw's bright and cheerful voice broke into Firepaw's strange dream.

"School begins at eight, Dustpaw and Sandpaw are already at work." Graypaw added urgently.

Graypaw beckoned for Firepaw to follow him.

"Where are we going?" Firepaw asked.

"Washroom." Graypaw promptly replied. He pushed open a door labeled _men_ and chuckled. "It's the one time I'm actually considered a man." Graypaw explained, his yellow eyes gleaming with humor.

In the showers, Graypaw resumed the conversation. "I spoke to Lionheart last night. Ravenpaw won't be learning with us until he's better, so he'll stay with Spottedleaf for a day or two. Dustpaw and Sandpaw are doing science, math, english, history, and cooking class. Lionheart thought me and you could learn with himself and Tigerclaw."

Firepaw smiled at Graypaw's bad grammer. "I hope we're also doing english" Firepaw joked.

Graypaw's shaggy black hair fell over his face as he hung his head, but Firepaw could still see his bright red cheeks.

"Anyway," Graypaw continued, changing the subject. "Lionheart and Tigerclaw are going to be double teachers until Bluestar finds a personal teacher for you." Graypaw grabbed a white towel and dried himself off before he got out. Firepaw followed suit, grabbing a beige towel and drying off, then grabbing some clothes Graypaw handed to him. The T-shirt was fiery orange but went with simple jeans. Graypaw was dressed in a light gray T-shirt with jeans.

"Bluestar assigns student clothes." Graypaw muttered. "Our teachers will be waiting - let's go!"

"In the future, I expect you both to be punctual." Tigerclaw practically growled as Firepaw and Graypaw entered the room at 8:02.

"Don't be so harsh, it was busy last night." Lionheart glanced sympathetically at the new students.

"Today, we're doing geometry." Lionheart announced before turning to a blackboard. As Lionheart drew shapes and wrote words, Firepaw looked around the room. With only skylights, students wouldn't get distracted easily by things moving outside. The walls were painted forest green, and there was two blackboards. Two desks were pushed together at the front of the room - Firepaw guessed this was where the teachers sat. Firepaw turned to two smaller desks and sat at the one closer to the door.

"This is," began Lionheart.

"A rhombus," Graypaw replied.

"Good. And this?" Lionheart asked again, looking at Firepaw.

"A quadrilateral, because it's not a square, rectangle, rhombus, or anything else but it has four sides."

"Nice explanation for an outsider," Tigerclaw smirked at Firepaw.

Firepaw felt fury burn inside him at this insolent teacher, but Lionheart calmed him with a firm glance.

"Tigerclaw, don't be so rough! That was a very good answer, much better than Graypaw's. Explain why Firepaw's answer was better than yours, Graypaw."

Graypaw rolled his eyes and sighed "Because he explained _why_ it was the correct answer. I just gave the answer."

"For once you got something right, Graypaw!" Lionheart teased and Firepaw caught a glimpse of the affection between teacher and student.

"Continuing with the lesson," Tigerclaw said, interrupting Firepaw's thoughts. "3-d figures."

The class seemed to drag on until the clock finally reached 9:30. The bell rang and Tigerclaw was finally able to stop giving the two students math homework.

"Now for social studies," Lionheart began a new lesson, until the bell rang at 11:00 and Tigerclaw was finally able to stop giving the two students social studies homework.

"Run along for an hour-long art class with Goldenflower," Lionheart said, sounding a bit tired.

"I love art class with Goldenflower!" Graypaw practically bounced down the hall.

"Lucky first-graders." Sandpaw sniffed as she walked down the hall. "I've got cooking with Brindleface and she always smells like onions."

Firepaw couldn't stop thinking how her sandy-colored tank top made her brilliant green eyes stand out. But when Sandpaw caught him looking at her, she pushed him into another student.

"Watch it!" snapped a dark-haired boy angrily. Firepaw backed away then glared daggers at Sandpaw. The second grader laughed and pushed through a knot of students, dissapearing from sight.

"In here." Graypaw steered Firepaw into a classroom that looked like the one where Lionheart and Tigerclaw were teaching.

"Sit on the floor," A slender, blond woman - who must have been Goldenflower - instructed. Firepaw noticed there were no desks, tables, or any sort of furniture in the room asides from easels and a fish tank in the corner.

"Oil pastels" said Goldenflower and Graypaw let out a victory whoop. Goldenflower smiled as she placed the small fish tank on the floor in front of the two boys. Tiny goldfish swam around and Firepaw felt himself relaxing at the sight of the carefree fish.

"Draw the fish tank as best as you can - whoever does best gets to keep the fish. Start when I place your tools beside you."

45 minutes later, Graypaw now owned a small fish bowl and five goldfish.

"Very good Graypaw, now explain to me why Firepaw has a green oil pastel mustache and beard."


	4. I'm sorry

**Dear Readers,**

**I've been asking myself: Is this story worth continuing? I seem to have no inspiration for it, even though it seemed like a good idea at first. I want to continue, but at the same time it feels like I can't. I'm sorry about this, guys. You are all loyal readers and I hate to disappoint you, but I don't think I can continue writing this.**

**Please Understand,**

**Graystorm11**


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